Taking Cruising to a New Level

  For my family and friends, most know my hubby David & I were once "never cruise" people.  Neither of us wanted any part of being on a ship but for different reasons.  For him, it is about not wanting to be out on a ship in the middle of the ocean where disasters can happen.  Fires, mechanical failures and contagious illnesses are all publicized negatives about being on a cruise ship.  Knock on wood, I'm not prone to motion sickness and I haven't gotten sick on a cruise.  For me however, it has always been, and still is, about my general dislike of crowds, long lines and obnoxious & rude people. For many years I have witnessed the mobs of people taking over the areas around several of the Alaskan ports.  In particular, Skagway and Juneau can be terrible when there are a lot of ships in port.  And during the land portion of "land & sea" vacations sold by the cruise lines, the terrible behavior of people I've witnessed in Denali Nationa...

Hurricane Melissa on Thursday 10/30/25 Shortly after booking this transatlantic cruise from Lisbon to Port Canaveral, this very ship Explorer of the Seas experienced a very scary weather incident resulting in high winds and rogue waves near the Canary Islands.  That sailing was scheduled to go from Barcelona to Miami, but had to divert to Tenerife causing a 3 day delay in their arrival in the United States.  Here is how the incident was covered by CBS News in Miami. Of course having seen the home videos and personal accounts from several passengers, I had a slight bit of concern about this cruise choice especially since technically it would be during the end of the Atlantic Ocean's hurricane season.  But I also recognized these ships and the navigation systems are designed to prevent a catastrophic disaster at sea.  I didn't give it much more thought for the coming months prior to the cruise. But just as we were getting ready to fly over to Portugal, there was increa...

There is something to be said for the tranquility of the open water.  This was the sunrise as seen from the front of the ship one of the mornings in the Windjammer buffet.  Because this was an Atlantic Ocean crossing, we had a lengthy stretch of sea days providing some wonderful views from the ship For breakfast there were several options available, making it possible to be as reclusive or social as you wish to be.  A couple of the mornings I enjoyed having a light continental of cereal, breads/pastries and hot tea brought to my cabin. Most of the mornings, however, I had breakfast with my sister Pam in the Main Dining Room (MDR) and solo in the Windjammer.  The best thing about the buffet breakfast was that they would make omelettes to order, so you were guaranteed hot, fresh eggs!  Another option was the Promenade Cafe, where you could pick up light dining options throughout the day.  Their breakfast choices didn't seem to fit my tastes, so I only di...

It was only a year ago (10/31/24) when I accomplished my goal of turning my casino play into vacations with Royal Caribbean (RC).  Prior to that cruise, I had been on just a couple of ships with my sister Pam, where we did enjoy playing roulette a few nights.  With a minimal amount of points earned, I felt there had to be a smarter way to play and get rewarded.  After weeks of research and studying, I set out to try to never pay full price for a cruise vacation again. It was also on that ship a year ago, that I earned the "instant certificate" for this Explorer of the Seas' 13 night transatlantic cruise from Lisbon to Florida. When I (and others) say they've earned a "comped cruise" . . . there are a few nuances to be aware of.  Of course, nothing is really "free" as you must still pay the port fees and taxes for any cruise awarded by RC.  Additionally, the lower level awards are often for just 1 guest, requiring you to pay a discounted fare for th...

  It is true . . . when you are on a cruise ship it is easy to lose track of the days.  Nice that most of the Royal Caribbean fleet have these carpets in their elevators.  Even still, some mornings you wake up and just aren't sure what day it is! With 7 days crossing the Atlantic Ocean, many (myself included) wonder how to keep from getting bored.  The truth is, the ship's crew does an incredible job providing activities and entertainment from from about mid-morning until late at night. With it being Halloween week at sea, there were several craft sessions planned.  The 3 that I remember were Halloween Origami (we made ghosts); Halloween lanterns and Halloween post cards.  The activities are as much about keeping people busy as it is creating opportunities to connect with others on the ship. There were other arts & crafts activities throughout the week, but I didn't participate in them. Another big thing, especially on the long transatlantic and transpa...

  This was another excursion booked independently with Spain Day Tours.  A couple on the social media site Cruise Critic organized our small (12-15 person) private tour for our final port of Tenerife.  We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and are appreciative of the efforts made to put this one together. Our journey took us from the cruise port of Santa Cruz through the dense pine forest to an elevation above the clouds.  At the  Pico del Inglés Viewpoint, we looked out over the vast "sea of clouds."  It truly looked like the ocean before us! As we left the forest and headed on into the Teide National Park , the landscape around us changed to a more baron field of lava flows with sparse vegetation.  The photos in the collage at the top of this post are from the Roques de Garcia viewpoint and walking trail near the base of Mount Teide.  The volcanic rock formations were stunning.  Our guide Elizabeth allowed us approximately an hour to explore thi...

With several excursion options offered by Royal Caribbean (RC) for our port day in Gran Canaria, it was difficult to pick one that offered the general things we wanted to see there . . . so we booked 2 . . . a morning and afternoon half-day trip.  From what was posted on the RC cruise planner website, it looked to be no problem scheduling as there was plenty of time between them to allow for the double scheduling.  Once on the ship, however, the information being provided on the excursion tickets and the daily on ship activities guide said otherwise.  After some time spent with the excursion desk crew, we were assured "we should be OK" and that should something happen to cause us to miss the afternoon excursion, they'd provide us with a full refund.  As it turned out, it was no problem and we had a great day! This island initially looked and felt very different than Lanzarote the day before.  Leaving the port, we drove through Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the pop...

The first of our Canary Islands' ports, Lanzarote felt like the most rural and "volcanic" of the islands we visited during our Explorer of the Seas cruise.  Declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1993, the island sits just 80 miles from the northern coast of Africa.  Visitors can see evidence of the volcanic nature of its creation when viewing any of the over 300 cones visible throughout.  While many (maybe even most?) are now extinct, there are still several that are dormant and could erupt at some time in the distant future.  The only currently active volcano is in Timanfaya National Park , which had its last major eruption 1730-1736, with a more minor eruption to occur in 1824.  Today there are still several "hot spots" providing proof there is still geothermal activity in areas of the park. During our 3 hour ship sponsored excursion, our tour included a brief stop inside the park, as it was more of a "drive through" experience.  I would have real...

  This excursion was booked independently with Spain Day Tours, and not through a Royal Caribbean sponsored vendor.  Several folks on the social media site Cruise Critic got together to organize a small (10-15 person) private tour for our first port of Cadiz.  The logistics were handled professionally, but the ship's late arrival to Cadiz created some challenges for the group because we had a scheduled timed entry reservation (tickets) for the Royal Alcázar of Seville . . . but more on that later.  All of that said, we did enjoy our whirlwind tour of Seville. From the cruise port, it was about a 90 minute drive to Seville.  The large motor coach was about half full, so we had plenty of room to stretch out. In fact, Pam & I had the entire back row to ourselves!  This was great for comfort . . . but challenging for taking photos from inside the bus as we rode through the city. Our first stop (besides a convenience store for the restrooms) was the  Pl...